Climate hawks begin push for green fiscal 2025 defense bill

By Andres Picon | 04/24/2024 06:39 AM EDT

Members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition released a list of priorities for the National Defense Authorization Act.

Andy Kim stands surrounded by reporters with microphones and cellphones pointed at him.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), co-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition's Climate and National Security Task Force, released a wish list for the fiscal 2025 defense authorization. Seth Wenig/AP

Some of Capitol Hill’s most prominent environmental champions are calling for congressional leaders to pack the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill with provisions that would support energy efficiency and climate resilience.

The co-chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition’s Climate and National Security Task Force urged leaders of the Armed Services Committee in a letter last week to use the National Defense Authorization Act to implement policies that would help the Pentagon get ahead of the risks posed by natural disasters.

They noted that climate change, which is making extreme weather more common and more severe, is already interfering with Department of Defense operations.

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“As we continue to see rising geopolitical tensions around the world, extreme weather is destabilizing our military installations and servicemembers’ ability to respond,” Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), co-chair of the task force.

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